I am running it for the second time in a row. That was my first sub 3 marathon and, I guess, based on those great memories, I signed up for it this year too, despite the fact that I am running Boston in 6 weeks after LA. In any case - I liked the course a lot, water aid stations almost every mile, spectators are plenty too, starts with a downhill, then couple of more or less steep hills before mile 6, then it's just mild rolling hills - the hardest part for me was the part from mile 16 to 23 with slight but pretty steady incline. I basically lost any hope to see promised downhill part by mile 23 . But when that downhill came - that was a celebration of running! .

I'll be running it for the 2nd time (and 2nd year) in a row. Last year I PR'd there, one week after running WTC 50k. This year I don't think I'll PR, as I'll be running it the day after running WTC 50k. I think I'll have ~3 hours from crossing the WTC 50k finish line to when my flight departs from Sacramento.

In addition to the hills around mile 4 and 20, there are a few steep downhills that can bust your quads. I try to take those very easy so I don't suffer later.

Those last three miles are awesome if you pace the first 23 well. Just a perfect gradual downhill toward the ocean with huge crowds on Ocean Blvd. I don't know if the increased security this year will have an effect on things at the finish.

The weather reports are forecasting a WARM day on Sunday with temperatures ranging from mid-50's at the start to approx. 80 degrees mid-day. As you prepare for race day, take a moment to read through the following tips to ensure you have a great marathon run!

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Anything higher than 60oF is not too good. Damn, I planned not to put too much efforts in this thing .

The weather reports are forecasting a WARM day on Sunday with temperatures ranging from mid-50's at the start to approx. 80 degrees mid-day. As you prepare for race day, take a moment to read through the following tips to ensure you have a great marathon run!

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Anything higher than 60oF is not too good. Damn, I planned not to put too much efforts in this thing .

Well, at least you'll be done long before the temps get really high. Us mid-packers will have more time in the sun, so to speak.

It's still gonna be cooler than my last marathon. I just hope for a solid marine layer. Some weather forecasts seem to indicate that's likely.

I am not freaking out too - it is what it is. I am just saying if we don't get the cloud cover in Santa Monica, it can get warm pretty fast even if you target some fast marathon. And yes, day light savings will probably help .

Anyone else running the LA marathon? It's my first time running the stadium to sea course. Would love any words of wisdom!

I ran the course twice, in 2012 and 2013. It is a great course. Please feel free to check out my race report from last year. The course has several sections with distinct personalities which I hope I was able to describe in the race report.

1. Even more than other marathons, DO NOT START TOO FAST because the first 2 miles are very much downhill, and mostly on long, broad Sunset Blvd. where there are no turns to slow you down. Others will be flying down because they aren't as disciplined as you. They will be coming back to you and farther back as soon as you hit....

2. Mile 4, the big short hill up to Walt Disney Hall. Take it easy. It's short, you won't gain many seconds even if you sprint up it (and you could lose dozens of minutes later) so it's not worth risking hurting your next 22 miles.

3. Don't kill your quads on the even steeper downhill in mile 16 from Sunset to Santa Monica Blvd. because you will feel the pain when you get to....

Reason #1. It will be cool at the start and the race ends in Santa Monica where it will be cooler than where it starts in Downtown

It looks like it hit 70 degrees in Santa Monica before 10 AM, and for the late-packers, it was over 80 by noon. Yuck. Dodger Stadium/downtown was actually a degree or two cooler.

I guess keeping positive helped for me! I BQ'd with a new PR of 3:06:24. I managed to run negative splits while doing it. I'd like to say I missed the heat, I didn't really "feel" it, but then looking at today's race pic I can see it from my face and lips to the salt on my shirt some effects from the weather.

I had a forgettable day. We spent over an hour waiting at the freeway exit having arrived there at 5:40. We got dropped off at 7:10 and the coral's were closed and the gear drop buses had left by 7:25 when I finished up at the porta potty. So instead of corral B I started behind 17,000 runners. I decided to just jog for fun and I finished in just over 4 hours. It got pretty warm over the last half. In retrospect I'm not sure I could have held sub BQ pace of 3:30 that I was shooting for. I did enjoy the beer shot at mile 21.

Congrats on the great PR Eddie! Your race times now looks even weirder than mine - your HM time x 2 is more than your FM time!

As for me - the temps hit me hard this year, I started feeling them by mile 18-19 and was so dead by mile 22. Direct sun and high temps are no fun .

Yikes, I need to run more halves, and I need a fast half marathon soon!

+1 to your times being weird. My 5K PR is 19:40. My half PR is 1:32 and my full PR is 3:28. So clearly I fade with distance. If you can do 3:06 full then you should be able to absolutely crush the shorter distances. You could do a 1:20 half for sure and an 18 minute 5K.

+1 to your times being weird. My 5K PR is 19:40. My half PR is 1:32 and my full PR is 3:28. So clearly I fade with distance. If you can do 3:06 full then you should be able to absolutely crush the shorter distances. You could do a 1:20 half for sure and an 18 minute 5K.

The last 2 half marathons I ran were 2012 Malibu Half and 2013 Rose Bowl Half. Malibu was hilly and badly paced. Rose Bowl half was a funky course (partial trails). I ran it on a whim without training for it.